Restricted Death

Chapter 222 The Letter of Request
The Third Division barracks.

The young boy wasn't wearing a sakaki suit; he was dressed in casual clothes, carrying a food box, and moved freely within the team dormitory. The team members he encountered all treated him with courtesy and smiles.

"Oh, it's Ichigo."

This boy, who has grown up quite a bit, is undoubtedly the crown prince of the Third Division. The members naturally all know their captain's son, and people kept greeting him along the way.

"Ichigo!"

Two figures walked out side by side from the team's office area, and the blond man smiled and blocked his way.

"Are you here to bring food to the captain?"

Ichigo looked listless and seemed somewhat impatient. Upon seeing the newcomer, he simply nodded slightly and said, "Kira."

Kira Izuru looked helpless and said, "Ichigo, do you really dislike using honorifics with me? I'm your senior, aren't I?"

Ichigo nonchalantly glanced aside: "What does it matter? We're already so familiar with each other."

Kira threatened slightly, "Be careful, or I'll tell Lord Miyako."

Ichigo, however, was not afraid of him, because he was certain that Kira was not that kind of person and would not go to his mother to tell her about such a thing.

Meanwhile, the person next to Kira was also looking at Ichigo with a curious gaze.

"This man is Captain Haiyan's son..."

Kira laughed and said, "Yes, let me introduce you. This is Rukia Kuchiki, the third seat of the 13th Division. She's quite famous in the 13th Division, you've heard of her, right?"

Rukia came to the Third Division today for some work-related matters. As a support team, the Third Division often interacts with other divisions. When other divisions need help or are short-handed, they always think of the Third Division first.

The Kuchiki family...

Upon hearing this, Ichigo looked at the short woman in front of him with a surprised expression. He had indeed heard the name before, sometimes from his teacher and sometimes from Hinamori, but this was the first time he had seen her in person. He hadn't expected her to look so... petite.

Remembering that the other person was a friend of his teacher, Ichigo still bowed respectfully and said, "Hello, nice to meet you. I am Shiba Ichigo."

Rukia waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Hello, hello, I've heard of you before."

She thought that since the child was Shin's student, she subconsciously regarded herself as an elder and asked with a smile, "I heard that Captain Tachikawa is your teacher. Do you also plan to become a Grim Reaper in the future?"

These words seemed to hit Ichigo's sore spot, causing his expression to instantly turn somewhat unpleasant.

"Maybe..." he replied somewhat vaguely.

Kira Izuru, as the vice-captain of the Third Division, knew quite a bit about the captain's family affairs, as he often heard Shiba Kaien whispering things in his ear.

Ichigo wants to become a Shinigami, and because of Shin's guidance over the years, he has a good foundation. The nobles of Seireitei have the privilege of directly sending members to the Thirteenth Division, and Ichigo has been clamoring to join the Thirteenth Division recently, but he has been rejected by both Kaien Shiba and the Shiba family.

Ichigo did not enroll in the Spirit Arts Academy, and given his current level of strength, he no longer finds the Spirit Arts Academy's teaching acceptable. To join the 13th Division, he would need his family's consent.

Kira then asked, "Haven't the captain and Lord Miyako agreed yet?"

Ichigo pouted and complained, "I don't know what they're thinking."

Kira pondered, "What about Captain Tachikawa? What does he mean? If he agrees, he could put in a good word for you with the captain and Lord Miyako, right?"

Ichigo sighed and said, "My teacher has been very busy lately, and I haven't seen him for a while."

He was fed up with his current incredibly boring life. He cultivated every day, but had no opportunity to use his skills, which made him feel like he was doing meaningless things.

Kira then advised, "The captain and the others must have a deeper consideration in mind."

Ichigo had heard this from people around him many times before, and hearing it again now, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"I'm going to deliver the food."

He bowed slightly to Rukia and then walked around the two of them.

Even after he left, Rukia's gaze lingered on him for a long time.

"Rukia?"

Rukia, upon hearing this, smiled at Kira and said, "This Ichigo seems to be neither quite like Captain Kaien nor quite like Captain Tachikawa in terms of personality."

Kira said, "He's a very good kid, and incredibly talented."

"Yeah."

"I'm not just saying this casually; I'm definitely not as good as him."

Rukia then showed surprise. Kira was the top student in her year, excelling in all courses, and was the only one among them to become the vice-captain.

"Then why didn't Captain Haiyan agree to let him become the Grim Reaper?"

"I didn't know that. I thought you already knew this child."

"I'm not a member of the Third Division, so how would I have the chance to get to know him?"

"..."

"He just said that Captain Tachikawa has been busy lately?"

"..."

Rukia noticed Kira looking at her strangely and immediately said somewhat awkwardly, "What kind of look is that?"

Kira suppressed a laugh and said, "No, but I'm not a member of the 10th Division either, so how would I know about Captain Tachikawa?"

"..."

Rukia and Ichigo's encounter was just a common occurrence in their daily lives, and she didn't think much of it.

#
Shin has indeed been very busy lately. He has entrusted all matters concerning the 10th Division to Matsumoto Rangiku and Hitsugaya, while he himself has been spending his days in the 1st Division's archives room, seemingly searching for something.

This situation not only puzzled the entire 10th Division, but also left the members of the 1st Division very confused.

Chojiro Sasakibe even came to ask Shin what kind of information he was looking for, hoping he could help, but Shin politely declined.

At the most recent captains' meeting, when everyone was present, Shin suddenly made a request to Captain-Commander Yamamoto:
I want to enter the Great Book Gallery!
The news was completely unannounced beforehand. Chojiro Sasaki, who was originally chairing the meeting, was somewhat surprised. He did not respond, but instead looked at Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Among the team captains present, several knew about Shin's recent activities and were curious about what he was searching for.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni pondered for a moment before refusing, saying, "The Great Spirit Book Corridor is the Seireitei's most secret location. Although you are the captain, you do not have that authority, and the Central 46 would not agree to it either."

Only the Captain-Commander and the Eighth Division Captain, Shunsui Kyoraku, are allowed to enter the Great Spirit Book Corridor. Even Kyoraku needs to report to the Central 46 in advance to enter.

Disappointment was visibly evident on Xin's face. The meeting continued after his request was rejected, but Xin's strange behavior was more noteworthy than the meeting itself.

After the captains' meeting ended, Shin was told that he needed to stay, and Chojiro Sasakibe led him to see the Captain-Commander.

Once outside, Ukitake approached Kyoraku first: "Do you know what happened?"

Kyoraku shook his head: "I don't know. I'm also curious about what Tachikawa wants to know that would make him want to enter the Great Spirit Book Corridor."

Aizen and Shiba Kaien then joined in the discussion.

Ukitake then asked Shiba Kaien, "Kaien, you and Tachikawa have always been close. Do you know why?"

Haiyan shrugged: "I don't know what he's been up to lately. I haven't seen him for several days now."

Everyone shared the same question. During the conversation, Aizen suddenly smiled and said, "I think Captain Tachikawa is probably looking into something very special. Wanting to enter the Great Spirit Book Corridor means he wants to know something that isn't recorded in detail in ordinary information."

Kyoraku casually replied, "Perhaps."

His heart was in turmoil. He thought that if it was really something serious, then Captain-Commander Yamamoto might see him again later, so he decided not to leave.

After the other captains left, only Kyoraku and Ukitake remained.

Both of their vice-captains came to inquire about the situation, and Ukitake gave a brief explanation of what had happened at the captains' meeting.

Upon hearing this, Ise Nanao suddenly realized something and her eyes widened in surprise.

Kyoraku noticed it keenly and glanced at her: "Nanao?"

"what?"

Kyoraku asked curiously, "You seem to be thinking about something."

"It's nothing." Ise Nanao subconsciously pushed up her glasses. "Sorry, I was a little distracted. I was thinking about something unrelated."

"..."

These words sounded even stranger to Kyoraku. He knew Ise Nanao's personality all too well, and she had clearly only reacted to what Ukitake had said.

But seeing that Ise Nanao didn't seem inclined to explain, he didn't press her for an answer immediately, but he remained puzzled, wondering if it was related to his vice-captain.

About twenty minutes later, Chojiro Sasaki came over, just as Kyoraku had predicted.

"Captain Kyoraku, Captain Ukitake is here too. The Commander-in-Chief wants to see you."

Kyoraku and Ukitake exchanged a glance and followed side by side behind Chojiro Sasakibe.

They were led into a tea room, where they found only Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni inside.

"Where is Captain Tachikawa?" Ukitake asked.

Chojiro Sasaki said, "Captain Tachikawa has left, but he went straight to the archives."

Went to the archives again?

Kyoraku and Ukitake knelt down in front of Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.

"What's going on, Master Shan?" Jing Le asked.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni seemed to be deep in thought at this moment, looking at his two students.

He slowly said, "Tachikawa's reason for wanting to enter the Great Spirit Book Corridor is to investigate matters concerning the Quincy."

"Queens?"

Kyoraku and Ukitake were both astonished. The Quincy clan had been wiped out by the Shinigami more than two hundred years ago, leaving only a handful of people.

The Soul Society's records of that war more than two hundred years ago are also very detailed. To call it a war is an understatement; it would be more accurate to describe it as a one-sided massacre.

Ukitake asked, puzzled, "Why would Captain Tachikawa want to investigate the Quincy?"

Kyoraku's thoughts raced, and he suddenly said, "I remember now, he seemed to have had contact with the Quincy, but that was a long time ago, and he just happened to encounter the remaining members of the Quincy clan... Strangely enough, these remaining Quincy seem to have always been mainly supervised by Captain Muneko. In the early years, quite a few Quincy died at Captain Muneko's hands because of his experiments, but there haven't been any such cases in recent years."

As the captain of the 8th Division and part of the intelligence unit, Kyoraku had a very clear understanding of everything that happened in the Soul Society and even the human world. He remembered everything that was recorded, even the most trivial matters.

Yamamoto entrusted his two most important squads to his two most trusted students.

At this point, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni added, "What he wants to investigate is not the war from more than two hundred years ago, but the war from a thousand years ago."

These words immediately startled Kyoraku and Ukitake.

A thousand years ago...

That was the most turbulent period in Soul Society. The Shinigami had not yet established a standardized system like they do now, and it was also the most prosperous period for Quincy.

At the same time, it was also the greatest calamity that Soul Society had ever suffered.

Fortunately, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni established the Gotei 13 at that time, bringing an end to that era.

Regarding the war a thousand years ago, the Soul Society has very few records of it. Even Kyoraku and Ukitake know very little about it, since they did not experience that era.

Kyoraku asked, "Why?"

Yamamoto sighed deeply, his aged and hardened face now revealing complex emotions.

"He didn't go into details, only saying that he was interested in things from a thousand years ago. I called you here to find out what he's up to today."

Kyoraku pondered for a moment after hearing this, then slowly shook his head and said, "I've already said what's important; I'm not sure about the rest for now..."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto frowned, paused for a moment, and then said, "I feel that he seems to know something incredible and is gradually confirming the truth, but he can't say anything until he's truly certain. That's just the kind of guy he is; he trusts his own judgment more."

Regarding events from a thousand years ago, there's actually nothing that can't be explained. The reason why there aren't many records in the Soul Society today is because the early Gotei 13's methods were indeed not very honorable. Back then, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's primary goal in establishing this organization was to quell the war, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a thorough assassin group.

But Yamamoto had a bad feeling about it.

Kyoraku suddenly said, "Then let me go into the Great Spirit Book Corridor and take a look. Then I'll understand why Tachikawa did this."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto was taken aback upon hearing this; it was indeed a possible solution.

Moreover, if it were Kyoraku Shunsui, the Central 46 Chambers would allow it... However, if the reason given was simply to investigate Tachikawa Shin's motives, it would be too hasty and absurd, and the 46 Chambers would probably make excuses.

Yamamoto pondered this carefully, but the unease in his heart remained.

He finally nodded and said, "Okay."

(End of this chapter)